Here’s Hillsdale College’s Matthew Spalding writing today at National Review:
On Constitution Day and every day, we need to reclaim our core principles.
Once limited to certain basic functions, the federal government today has an all-but-unquestioned dominance over virtually every aspect of American life.
Congress passes massive pieces of legislation with little deliberation, and yet the majority of “laws” are promulgated by bureaucrats who are invisible to the public and, worse, mostly unaccountable.
An “imperial” president exerts massive administrative power over a vast web of government policies and procedures without the clear authority of law.
…
What we need is a great renewal of these permanent truths about man, politics, and liberty. These are the foundational principles and constitutional wisdom that are the true roots of our country’s greatness. In a world of moral confusion, and of arbitrary and unlimited government, the American Founding is the best place to gain access to permanent truths and the best ground from which to question the whole foundation of the “progressive” project. American politics should be understood in the light of the country’s founding principles. We need to study these principles as they were understood by America’s Founders.
A deep understanding of, and commitment to, core principles is the key to the practical, prudential decision-making we so desperately need in our ideologically divided politics. American politics should be understood in the light of the country’s founding principles.
Read more: National Review
Image credit: townhall.com.
